Obama Urges Action on Expansive Agenda

Watch President Obama's 2013 State of the Union full speech.

By

Peter Nicholas and

Colleen McCain Nelson

Updated Feb. 12, 2013 10:44 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama outlined an ambitious agenda in his State of the Union address Tuesday that included raising the minimum wage, increasing spending on infrastructure, attacking climate change and passing gun-control legislation.

Burson-Marsteller CEO and former Clinton speechwriter Don Baer reviews President Obama's State of the Union speech and the agenda laid out for 2013 and beyond. Photo: Getty Images.

Mr. Obama repeated his earlier calls for reducing the budget deficit through a mix of tax increases and spending cuts. He also said he would support "modest reforms" in programs including Medicare, as long as wealthy Americans contribute as well. And he said he would reduce troop levels in Afghanistan by half over the next year, an acceleration of the U.S. departure and an effort to wind down America's longest war.

ENLARGE

President Obama laid out his agenda on spending, climate change and guns in the State of the Union speech.
Alex Wong/Getty Images

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Read WSJ reporters' comments on President Barack Obama's State of the Union address.

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In a speech largely focused on the economy, the president's rollout of his second-term agenda included many proposals aimed at helping low-income Americans advance. He urged Congress to work with states to provide "high quality'' preschool to all low- and moderate-income 4-year-olds, and he proposed raising the federal minimum wage to $9 per hour, up from $7.25 today.

"It is our unfinished task to make sure that this government works on behalf of the many, and not just the few; that it encourages free enterprise, rewards individual initiative, and opens the doors of opportunity to every child across this great nation,'' Mr. Obama said.

In Tuesday's State of the Union address, President Barack Obama renewed his call for policies to reduce gun violence. He referenced Hadiya Pendleton, a victim of gun violence, and the families of Newtown, Conn., saying "they deserve a vote."

Reopening a fight with Congress that he lost in his first term, he called for tens of billions in spending to rebuild the nation's aging roads and bridges. He also said he would work toward a comprehensive trade agreement with the European Union—an effort that would face considerable obstacles, such as more stringent European regulations compared with U.S. rules. But Mr. Obama said a deal would support "good-paying'' jobs.

Mr. Obama, addressing a Congress riven by disputes over how to rein in budget deficits, rejected broad changes to Medicare, the federal health program, as some Republicans have proposed. The president, who won an increase in tax rates on high wage-earners earlier this year, said he would press for deficit reduction by ending tax breaks and deductions for wealthier Americans, as well as for spending cuts.

His hourlong speech demonstrated the wide ideological gulf between the parties, even as Republicans work to reposition themselves after the 2012 presidential election defeat by taking pains to show they are attuned to the struggles of low-income and middle-class Americans.

In the Republican Party's formal response, Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla) said the president was wrongly relying on government, rather than the free market, to boost the middle class.

"Presidents in both parties—from John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan—have known that our free enterprise economy is the source of our middle class prosperity," Mr. Rubio said. "But President Obama? He believes it's the cause of our problems."

Mr. Rubio said Mr. Obama had an "obsession with raising taxes'' and relied on deficit spending, which he contended would hurt middle-class families. "Mr. President, I don't oppose your plans because I want to protect the rich,'' he said. "I oppose your plans because I want to protect my neighbors.''

Mindful of the long odds of passing a broad legislative package, Mr. Obama is pledging to use his executive powers when necessary and maximize his leverage by taking his case directly to voters.

What They Said

The modern tradition of delivering an oral State of the Union message to Congress began in 1934. Compare how often presidents used selected words in their addresses.

What They Said

He said he wanted Congress to act to curb global climate change. Should lawmakers balk, he said he would take action on his own authority.

"I will direct my cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy," Mr. Obama said.

Under Mr. Obama, the Environmental Protection Agency is already moving to regulate emissions for new power plants. Talk of further executive actions was seen by environmentalists as a signal that he will pursue a similar course for existing plants, which would mark a significant regulatory expansion.

In the speech, Mr. Obama detailed policy goals that have been dormant for years. As a presidential candidate in 2008, Mr. Obama proposed increasing the federal minimum wage to $9.50 an hour, but he has put little force behind the proposal since then.

"Tonight, let's declare that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty, and raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour," he said.

President Obama in his State of the Union address said that economic growth requires not just cuts but a balanced approach to deficit reduction that includes spending cuts as well as revenue. (Photo: Getty Images)

Mr. Obama had made public works projects the centerpiece of a jobs plan he unveiled in 2011. He couldn't get it passed in Congress. Trying again, he is calling for $50 billion program that would address problems such as the 70,000 bridges in the U.S. that have been deemed structurally deficient.

Many of Mr. Obama's initiatives will require congressional action at a time when the White House has already given lawmakers a heavy workload. He wants lawmakers to pass a sweeping immigration overhaul and new limits on guns. On Tuesday, he again urged action on both fronts but didn't expand on his views about what he would like to see in legislation.

Mr. Obama cited victims of gun violence in the House chamber as he asked Congress to vote on his gun-control proposals. They would expand background checks to include all gun-buyers and bans on certain semiautomatic weapons and high-capacity magazines.

Present for the speech were families of the victims of the school massacre in Newtown, Conn., as well as former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who survived a gunshot to the head in 2011 and has emerged as an advocate for new gun limits.

Also in the House chamber were the parents of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton, who was shot and killed in Chicago days after participating in the Obama inaugural celebration.

With memories of long lines at polling places still fresh, the president announced creation of a commission to study ways to cut wait times.

The new panel will have a bipartisan cast: the chairmen will be former Obama White House counsel Bob Bauer and Ben Ginsberg, an attorney for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign who was on George W. Bush's election-law team during the 2000 Florida recount.

Republicans said Mr. Obama's speech did little to build bridges across the aisle, serving as more evidence of the president's second-term strategy of adopting a more confrontational stance toward the GOP. They also voiced skepticism about his promise that his new policies wouldn't add to the deficit.

"I was disappointed, but not surprised, by the president's remarks tonight,'' said Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R., Texas). "He laid out a very liberal agenda that called for raising taxes, stricter gun control, and a greater focus on climate change.''

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.) said Mr. Obama's policies would hurt both the government's bottom line and the nation's character. "The president's policies are creating dependency and poverty,'' he s

aid. "No longer can we measure compassion by how much we spend on poverty but how many people we help to lift out of poverty."

Mr. Obama spent time in the speech sketching his approach to dealing with al Qaeda and its allies in Afghanistan and around the world. He said he would build partnerships with other countries to avoid sending American troops, but he signaled the likelihood of continuing U.S. strikes against "those terrorists who pose the gravest threat to Americans."

Mr. Obama also acknowledged the growing national debate over his administration's use of drones and targeted killing. In doing so, he promised greater transparency and an effort to provide a "legal framework" for U.S. counterterrorism efforts.

Members of Congress have begun discussing establishment of a special court that could review proposed counter terrorism strikes. Mr. Obama didn't address the court proposal but signaled he is willing to work with Congress to expand oversight.

"No one should just take my word that we're doing things the right way," Mr. Obama said, calling for a system that is "consistent with our laws and system of checks and balances."

Mr. Obama also referred to North Korea's latest nuclear test, saying that "provocations of the sort we saw last night will only further isolate them,'' and he promised to "lead the world in taking firm action'' that he didn't describe.

At the same time, Mr. Obama said he would "engage Russia'' in an effort to make further reductions in nuclear stockpiles.

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